US World Cup boycotts grow as Trump threatens Mexico
1d 2h ago by lemmy.world/u/MicroWave in world from www.newsweek.com
Calls are growing on social media for international soccer fans to boycott the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is being hosted across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Our government is currently murdering citizens and disappearing brown people. Literally, why would anybody come here. My advice to everybody is that it's not worth the risk.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1936_Summer_Olympics
Well I certainly am not going to attend... but mostly just because I'm not interested rather than any ideological reason.
I can’t imagine why the average football fan would risk going to the USA from another country right now. Even if they’re straight, white, Christian males.
Go to Mexico or Canada sure. But a fascist country with a stated goal of ethnic cleansing?
You're over-estimating the intelligence and political engagement of the average football fan.
I didn't think footballs were capable of either?
Oops.
I mean they were probably equivalent anyway, so I think you were okay.
Of course, where do you think Poland ball came from?
Poland?
Countryballs or Poland Ball are a popular meme/webcomic. I was making a silly joke.
Oh I know haha, I was making a silly joke too
Ah, I get it now... Oops lol
Especially those who can afford to go to the World Cup.
My FILs pal is spending over £100,000 to take him and his 3 pals.
That's a lot of money to spend on a trip that ends at an El Salvador concentration camp.
Fair point.
Man see ball. Man see Mbappé kick ball good. Man drink beer.
I think its not even the average football fan.
The peaceful suburbanite psyche of the average 'western' person hasn't been penetrated yet, even with all thats happened. Thats in large part due to the media, and how they don't cover the increasingly serious corruption, murders, and traitors.
A great current example is the sentencing and jailing of that national traitor from Reform UK. It caused barely a blip in the media, just phenomenal there wasn't a classic british media circus around it, so phenomenal I find it suspicious.
But its surely more than the media, maybe willful ignorance? Simple lack of care, a sort of "thats their business, not mine" attitude? I don't know, human behaviour is weird when it comes to inconvenience.
So much of this world seems to run on whatever is most convenient, (to be read as least mentally taxing), for the person in the decision makers position at the time. Be it a president, local cop, lawyer, teacher, or any other authority position, it always comes down to was it easier for that person to make that decision, or this decision.
Importantly, i think its the making of a decision not the outcomes of said decisions. So the easy decision could lead to harder to manage outcomes, but the decision maker at the time found that decision easiest to process as opposed a more complex option as the decision to go with.
But this event could be the reason why People wake up. Imagine some crazy fans breaks out in fights in the streets of dallas forinstance (like in russia vm) When ice or national guard begins shooting visitors of mixed countries. Then you'll see the fans blow up.
Maybe. I don't know. People have a lot less rights in other countries than their own. Theres a clear propaganda line I can see there, maybe it'd be flimsy, but it doesn't seem to take much 'justification'.
Obsessive fans wait 4 years for this, and the last World Cup showed that those idiots will spend thousands to visit your country, even if it’s doing some terrible things.
I’d forgotten about that one. Yeah. Wow.
Please let at least the English fans go, they're lovely.
Most games, including the finals, are hosted in the USA. This just won't happen.
American here. Don't come see us right now. Our place is a fucking mess and we really need to clean up, and it's gonna be a long, long time before we're ready for visitors.
Our transportation will be fucked as well
Indeed
The teams should boycott.
Begin with Spain and Brazil.
and Brazil
Yeah, we should, but money talks :(
So does being locked out of international tournaments.
That said, if the six or seven really big footballing associations did, that’d fuck the whole tournament. That’d probably work to some degree.
All the countries with big populations should pull out and the cup can be decided between the vatican and Andorra
Start a better association with a bigger, shinier cup. Most importantly, one that tinpot dictators aren't allowed to have.
Will there be blackjack and hookers?
If people watched the Qatar World Cup where they literally killed thousands of slaves to build the soccer stadiums, only to say that the US is too bad for them to deal with... You know things are getting rough.
Didn't watch Qatar either. Breaks my heart a little more every time I think about all the shit FIFA is endorsing, because I used to love watching world cups, but the more I become aware of the sheer corruption around it, the more it taints those sweet memories with a bitter aftertaste.
Why the fuck does greed have to ruin everything.
Capitalism
Ain't that the ugly fucking truth
i think it's becoming harder and harder for common people to ignore that fact
There was no greed or corruption before capitalism.
Yes, there was, but it wasn't ruining everything.
Yeah, feudalism was dandy, communism a utopia and theocracies a paradise on earth.
Now, you can add capitalism to that list. IDK, maybe not come back to a monarchy? But, that's for Americans to decide, or, at least that's my opinion.
Those are not exclusive. Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, etc... are all constitutional monarchies with a (social) capitalist economic system.
I did not just very purposefully refrained from watching Qatar, I actually started boycotting sponsors - such as Coca Cola - from then onward.
Mind you, thanks to Trump since I've expanded that boycott to cover all American products and companies.
Didn't watch Qatar either. Neither did majority of football fans. The problem is, that is not why fifa chooses these fucked up nations to host football. If it was about tickets, then it would always be in Europe. This is about power and money.
I really hope the stadiums are totally empty. We must not repeat the mistakes of the 1936 Olympics. Boycott the world cup and also boycott all their sponsors and advertisers and demand they pull their ads and stop funding FIFA which is a totally corrupt organization.
In a just world, this party would be considered so radioactive it would be Business 101 to lock the door in their face and make sure it's VERY clear you'd never serve their interests. To deal with them at all should risk being marked a traitor and shunned.
Anybody who identifies with these bullies and thugs needs to have the privilege of watching that little red line plummet in real time.
Or FIFA Russia 2018.. (after the Krim annexation.)
Save yourselves, don't visit America. We may have to live in hell but you don't have to.
Many cool Americans I knew were so proud and patriotic in the past. Reality has flipped. Stay strong. you live in a place that’s so scary it makes me try to protect myself at the other side on the globe. :( It’s bitter
I would be genuinely shocked if FIFA notices or feels any impact. Qatar was a huge success for them regardless of their country’s issues.
I mean Qatar was not actively attacking locations that were hosting games nor was it actively arresting all foreigners in their country for the crime of being in their country.
Neither will USA for 2 months (I’m guessing). I’m just saying I think soccer fans value soccer much more than they value justice.
But, people have to plan a trip to the US much more than 2 months in advance. If the brownshirts don’t scare them, they still have to consider that they might get refused entry after paying for the flight, ticket car rental (they’ll need one) and hotel.
My guess is that the Trump administration will loosen a lot of things for the duration of the World Cup. We’ll see though.
Feels like you are guessing and hoping a lot, while the event is just months ahead.
I literal said I’m guessing. I wouldn’t say hoping, though. It just feels like something that will happen.
Failing at hosting the World Cup would be a huge embarrassment for Trump. But also, showing the world how much we have turned to authoritarianism would also be something he would do. So I can see it going both ways.
Edit: either way, my point remains. Soccer fans will care more about soccer than about authoritarianism and will happily pay 1000 a ticket in an authoritarian country to see their favorite team compete.
Its not about justice so much as its about how likely they are to get shot in the face, something that I think even soccer fans probably care about. Avoiding the world cup in the US isn't just about politics, its about personal safety. The US is CONSIDERABLY less safe than Qatar for foreign tourists.
We’ll see what happens. I just don’t think soccer fans will miss out on watching the World Cup.
The ones that end up getting disappeared into camps or murdered will probably miss some games.
That’s a risk they’ll be willing to take.
FIFA is getting a lot of good out of that peace prize.
Good with a capital G.
It's not that I'm boycotting FIFA as much as I'm just not going to the US because I'm not a self-destructive idiot with a death wish.
Boycott ALL international sports events in America or Russia. They don't deserve the attention or the economic boost.
If People from outsite us seriously are attending this event, I loose all hope in humanity. Attending in Mexico or Canada is fine. But don't cross any boarders to the usa.
Just like all the events with the Saudis, in Qatar, the Winter Olympics in Russia, etc.
Rich people will attend no matter what.
Not just rich people. The world cup in quatar proved that.
"FIFA PASS" to fast-track visas? Sounds like a convenient cover story for terrorists to get in easily.
/s
Don’t boycott the whole thing, just attend events in Canada and Mexico only.
You should always boycott the FIFA World cup
They were/are kissing Trump's ass enough. Can't forget the first (and likely only) FIFA Peace Prize, or when the FIFA big-wig let him hold the trophy like some sycophantic Make-a-Wish.
Hold it? He kept it.
Fair. Good idea.
FIFA gave him a peace prize.
Most games, including the finals, are hosted in the USA. This just won't happen.
World Cup in Mexico and Canada. Kick USA out, they don't understand Football and will terrorize fans.
Edit: They didn't stop Nazi Germany to host Olympic games in 1936, it is not too late to stop USA to host World Cup and Olympic games while nazis are in power.
"Calls are being made on social media" - In other words, the same accounts that were already calling for boycotts are continuing to do so.
Talk is cheap, more so online.
Basically thoughts and prayers.
Yeah, we ARE still talking about that disgusting creep, and his sick friend Jeffery, too!
Americans are afraid to go outside in their own country, why the fuck would anyone come here?
Not sure if the World Cup can still happen of two or more of the host countries are at war with each other
First time U.S. is having the World Cup and Olympics in DECADES and it's while this felon rapist traitor is running the show.
Guess those things are off my bucket list.
Already done. Boycotted the last, will boycott this and the next.
I’ll probably die before I watch another FIFA tournament based match.
I live in one of the most popular tourist spots in the world, and I don't know why anyone from any country would visit America right now. It's a big world, go somewhere nice.
The teams should be boycotting too, but that would require having a spine, such a thing is rarely found in the soccer football world.
It's not about the attendees boycotting, since they are already with their heads in their asses, and rich enough to spent their money on this. It's the hosts who can boycott the shit out of this corrupt event. But be careful, in 1968, in Mexico, the students threatened to boycott the Olympic Games and got massacred, which brought the Dirty War period of the government against dissident citizens. I can see this happening to America during this period of relentless imperial fall.
Good
The USA govt will just buy the tickets and pay people to go and cheer for the dictator, ya know, the thing they always claim happens in the enemy countries
I wouldn't fault anyone for boycotting the World Cup because it's in the US at this time, but in the end, it will end up hurting California more than the US at large, and that kind of plays right into Trump's hand.
Not if the USA teams boycott.
How so? Again, I understand a boycott, but Trump already targets areas with large, Democratic-voting areas (such as L.A.) with ICE and withholding of federal funds. How will a boycott of US teams mitigate the damage done by a failed World Cup?
Spending is projected to top $594 million, with an estimated $34.9 million of tax revenue generated for government entities in Los Angeles County. The most significant sources are the transient occupancy tax and the region’s share of sales tax revenues. At the state level, we project a bump of $22.3 million in tax revenue from FIFA World Cup 26™ being held in Los Angeles.
https://losangelesfwc26.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/FINAL-FWC-26-LA-Economic-Impact-Report-Micronomics-2024-06-25.pdf
1- There is no lack of money in California.
2- If the USA teams specifically state the boycott is because of the President it makes him look terrible.
3- If only the USA teams boycott, no money is lost. Americans don't really care about soccer. Do you know who won the MLS championship last year, I don't, does anyone here know without looking it up?
1 You fail to address the loss of capital invested by the community, as if they all live in Beverly Hills and have money to piss away. East LA assures you that they do not.
-
Yes, but the state of California still suffers.The locals still suffer from loss of return on their investment. See the "capital invested" part of point 1.
-
Bullshit. Soccer is growing in popularity in the US and excluding US teams is the surest way to deter that interest.
- Yes I did, if only the USA teams boycott fans from other countries still attend. All the money gained from tourism is still received.
- See #1
- At best its the 5th most popular sport in America, it might be even lower. I don't care if it deters interest, personally, I'd respect the players more if they boycotted.
- Again do you know who won the MLS championship? I see plenty of WORDLE comments and posts in your history, very couldn't find any MLS stuff.
My God! What a brilliant deduction! I'm not a soccer fan, so my opinion on something only tangentially related to the sport is invalid and that makes your ridiculous assertion that LA's World Cup will be miraculously successful if the host country's teams would just withraw completely valid. Brilliant!
I see that you looked at my profile to try to make this about me rather than your weak argument. You should really join us in dailygames! The daily brain exercises might help you to form coherent thoughts and understand some of the words I just used.
The rudeness is really uncalled for so I'm going to leave things here. I wish you the best of luck 🖖